Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Paychex from $117.00 to $114.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Paychex from $123.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Paychex from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Paychex from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Paychex from $131.00 to $119.00 in a report on Friday, December 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $123.69.

Paychex Stock Performance

Shares of PAYX opened at $107.53 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.57. Paychex has a 1 year low of $105.66 and a 1 year high of $141.92. The firm has a market cap of $38.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Paychex had a net margin of 30.45% and a return on equity of 45.50%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Paychex will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Paychex Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 8th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.02%.

Insider Activity at Paychex

In other Paychex news, VP Michael E. Gioja sold 13,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.30, for a total value of $1,584,683.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,835,800.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paychex

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Karp Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Paychex in the third quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Paychex by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Paychex during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Paychex by 260.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 71.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Paychex

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Paychex, Inc engages in the provision of human capital management solutions for payroll, human resources, insurance and retirement for small and medium-sized businesses. Its solutions include payroll services, hiring services, business insurance, time and attendance, employee benefits, finance and payments, human resources services and startup services.